Friday, April 1, 2016

Utilisation Patterns & Cost of Hospital Care for People Living with HIV in Ireland in 2012: A Single-Centre Study

Data on the pattern and cost
of health service use by HIV patients are required for evaluations of the
cost-effectiveness of new drugs and technologies as well as being essential for
service planning. The aim of this study was to identify the utilisation
patterns and cost of hospital care for HIV patients in a single centre in
Ireland in 2012. Data on the frequency and non-drug costs of all hospital
resources used by HIV patients were extracted from a hospital activity-based
costing system. Cost data were analysed using a generalised linear model. A
total of 328 patients, 3672 patient months, were included in this study. Patients had a mean of 4.4 scheduled infectious disease outpatient appointments
per patient year; 37% of patients also used another outpatient service, 15%
in-patient services, 4% day-case service and 18% emergency department services
in 2012. Patients with very advanced HIV disease continue to incur a disproportionate
amount of the total cost of providing care. This study provides baseline
utilisation and cost data for use of both infectious-disease and non-infectious
disease hospital services and will be useful for service planning in light of
the likely increases in resource demands.